what does a chinese company want with a vineyard in napa valley? >> there's a big demand in china for luxury goods, for goods that are scarce, and for goods that are well made. rather than buying chinese-made products and sending our money over there, they're buying eir ican-made products and .ending their money back here. >> reporter: and the jobs stay here. re.and the jobs stay here. >> reporter: chinese firms, flush with cash, have invested $16.4 billion in the u.s. in the past decade, $1.3 billion in california companies, a record $560 million in just the past year. the chinese are also boosting the golden state's housing recovery. they've bought one out of every ean homes sold in the past year. >> compared to the high-end thiing like in beijing, this is not that expensive, though. r: reporter: di meng is a student at the university of oruthern california. his parents bought him this nearly $1 million condo at the ritz-carlton. they thought renting a dorm room was a waste of money. >> yeah, my parents decided to buy me a house as an investment